The Congress party released its 2014 Lok Sabha election manifesto on Wednesday. While releasing its manifesto for the upcoming elections, the Congress party touted its achievements and promised an array of ambitious social reforms if it gets re-elected.

The document, named as “Your Voice, Our Pledge” is virtually
impressive as it focused on inclusive growth, agriculture, education
and health as it included many proposed “Right-legislations”
though in reality is just a dipped proposition as there is no strong
evidence of roadmaps in terms of fund generation and allocation for
actualization and implementation of any of its proposals.

In
Focus

An important aspect of this seemingly good looking document is
that the Congress party has expressed its commitment to create a
national consensus on affirmative action for SCs and STs for jobs in
the private sector through legislation.

Clearly the Congress Party has backed reservation for backward
castes in private sector jobs in its 2014 elections manifesto as a
pitch as part of an ambitious affirmative action agenda designed at
gaining back the confidence of a part of its vote banks which it has
lost in recent years.

Reservation as a policy for social upliftment may be affirmative
but when it becomes a part of vested political interest at the cost
of economy and growth of the nation is clearly divisive, detrimental
and disastrous as it directly and adversely affects competitiveness,
performance and meritocracy.

May be that’s the reason why private sectors have always been
resistant to this policy.

Private sectors are a highly competitive field and profit driven
enterprises. Meritocracy and performance have always been the
hallmarks of private sector jobs. They have to continuously evolve
updating themselves so as to stay buoyant in the market.

Reservation or quota in this sector surely will sound the death
knell of best brains to come in to generate innovative ideas and take
Indian companies to the next level which is much needed. Reservation
indeed is straight detrimental to private sector performance

Again what about the foreign investors? In reality without outside
investors it is unlikely to generate many jobs or achieve any
substantial growth in our economy. Already we have compulsive
policies for them to employ Indians as half of their staffs. For any
venture it needs talents not cast for its prosperity. If quota will
be added instead talent how come it will help them in doing good
business? Isn't this policy of quota in employment is just like
discouraging them to do any business here?

Private sectors in all over the world including Indian Inc. are
interested and adopted for affirmative action in terms of building
skills and capability or in giving education to the disadvantaged as
a part of their CSR program (Corporate Social Responsibility).

They use funds for building schools, colleges, hospitals either
free of cost or with nominal fees to be uses by down trodden in the
society. They would never like any imposition to provide employment
on quota basis.

Moreover by going in line with Congress and RaGa we will soon have
reservation in sports. Imagine we have quotas in Indian cricket team
instead of talent and ability. Can we imagine any performance from
this team where some players are chosen on the basis of their cast,
not merit and ability?

Similarly in other sports also for competition we need talent not
cast. If cast will be given preference over talent then performance
and competitiveness have to be kept in cold storage.

Instead of employment quota, a proposal for allocating corporate
fund for providing world class skill development for India's
economically and socially backward sections would be a much better
idea. In this way they can compete as per their merit.

Merit enhancement is better than providing job quota and private
sectors will happily agree to contribute.

In simple terms the point is very clear. Congress's latest plan
for job quotas in the private sector can simply be termed as ruinous
competitive populism. It is bound to be christened as 'economic
insanity' by any Industry expert or political observer. I feel it's
just a cheap and shrewdly blinkered vote bank politics and will be
slammed by any progressive Indian.

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